I think it's a fantastic concept.

Surely we can locate some willing apprentices!!

Great idea Kevin! DO you know if this will take place at other hammer ins?

Brion

I'm in for the Contest. I e-mailed you kevin.

I got your e-mail Jason, and you are on the list. Brion, Bill Wiggins was very keen on this idea when I proposed it at the last board meeting and has been working with me on the details, so I would expect to see another competition with him. Willing apprentices are already signing up. I felt it was time that the ABS projected our educational approach more widely on the internet and our YouTube channel is a way to entertain while educating the public about real bladesmithing, the hard work, and time, involved in making true quality blade as well as becoming an experienced Bladesmith.

We actually had some people who watched the Battle of the Bladesmiths competitions who came way thinking that you could make a quality blade in two hours, I never thought that was a good impression for us to project. I did the ABS Battle of the Bladesmiths once, and to be honest, I hated it. It kills a part of my soul to make anything I am not completely proud of, and there is no way to accomplish that with a "finished" knife in two hours. I believe a key characteristic of a Master Bladesmith is that perfectionist O.C.D. nature that will have us putting in whatever time is required to make the piece what it needs to be, even if we have to work extra hours for free to produce something we are proud of. I have never met a deadline in my life, but I usually surpass my clients expectations. If we can instill this ethic in an Apprentice we will have started him on the path to Master, so the first thing I thought of was to eliminate the one thing at odds with this- the time factor. Plus, is it really fair to judge the work of a guy who is hoping to still learn things he is being judged on? At the heart of it we are "smiths", so I decided to start at the beginning and see who has the most promise at shaping a blade in the forge. With any luck they get to become a trained bladesmith, with a Journeyman rating, and the public gets to see what is really involved in accomplishing that.

Thank you for putting this on! Email has been sent.

Excellent idea that seems to be well thought out and reasonable! This could get the ABS a lot of exposure that could generate even more interest in bladesmithing. One idea would be to locate an MS or JS as local to the winner as possible that would be willing to provide guidance and even time for the winner to spend in the MS or JS shop.

|quoted:

Great idea Kevin! DO you know if this will take place at other hammer ins?

Brion

I feel I should mention that should any other hammer-ins decide they would like to be involved, please contact me. This has to be done right. There are specific goals, and an overall approach, that we need to stick with and there are many concerns that we need to stay ahead of. This really needs to be a team effort, with all of us on the same page, if it is going to be coherent and in the best interests of the ABS. I will be happy to go over those needs and concerns with any team that wants to contribute.

Kevin's quote:

"I feel I should mention that should any other hammer-ins decide they would like to be involved, please contact me. This has to be done right. There are specific goals, and an overall approach, that we need to stick with and there are many concerns that we need to stay ahead of. This really needs to be a team effort, with all of us on the same page, if it is going to be coherent and in the best interests of the ABS. I will be happy to go over those needs and concerns with any team that wants to contribute."

My inner alarm went off at this idea at first. However, I know that, considering Kevin's comment and my trust in the management at various events, this will most likely be well received and serve to boost the learning curve of the apprentices and create immeasurable interest and excitement. I will assist in any way I can. Thank you Kevin as well as the ABS Board of Directors.

Update

Great news! We now have four competitors, and four alternates, in the case of a dropout, for the competition. I have a good number who have volunteered to help with the video work, so we are a go!

There have been some questions about a few of the details so I thought I would give a bit more information-

For the competitors- be ready to have fun and show your stuff on Saturday, August 24, at 7:00 pm in the forging shop area at the Mid-America Hammer-in. I would ask that the competitors, and those on the back-up list, sign in on a sheet that I will have at the registration desk when you register for the hammer-in. In the case of a no-show, you will be bumped up the list in the order you are now in.

What to bring:

Be wearing all-natural fiber, such as cotton, long pants, leather work boots and perhaps a leather apron (if you have one).

Eye protection (a must), and gloves if you feel you may need them.

Tools- any hammers or tongs that you feel most comfortable with. There will be some of these tools there, but there is nothing like ones own tools that they are used to.

Competitors will agree to be videoed for public viewing during the event, and whenever possible afterwards, to document their road to Journeyman bladesmith.

The Competitors will be given identical bars of clean, new, high carbon steel stock- because we are all about showing the public how to make the best knife you possibly can. To further facilitate that goal, there will be no rush, the competitors will have approximately 90 minutes to simply forge the best blade they can.

We want to see you succeed so there will be no gotchas, but I have decided that there will be one added challenge that competitors will have- The forging will be done in coal, so practice up guys. If need be you can get some time in the green coal area of the hammer in before Saturday night. The main reason for this stipulation is to not have the roar of a gas forge interfering with video sound and for the audience to hear without shouting with the microphones. But also, to stay with a more traditional smithing format, with the use of a coal forge being well worth preserving.

At the beginning of the competition, you will be given a metal template of a standard knife design. Your task is to forge your best version of that design in 90 minutes. What you will produce will be only a forging, it must be forge finished, with no evidence of grinding or filing. You can do everything that one could do at a forge, being aware that the judges will also be observing your approach and technique.

Time is not a factor, only the quality of your work. If a competitor takes over an hour to produce a truly high-quality blade, with good technique, he will win out over competitors finishing first, unless they can produce a better blade in that shorter time. But do be aware that steel does suffer from too many heats or too much time at higher temperatures.

When the last competitor sets a cool blade on their anvil the final judging will proceed with a panel of qualified judges. Good features, as well as negative points, will be discussed for the education of the audience, after which the judges will confer privately to reach a decision.

The winner will receive a scholarship to an ABS Intro to Bladesmithing class, and have their road to Journeyman Bladesmith recorded as an ongoing part of this educational series.

Now we're talking. This clarification is great and the fact that coal is used is an exciting factor. Lest you apprentices that are competing have reservations about the coal; if you practice, coal fuel will let you be more specific with your heats and offers more control in tighter areas.

This is not a step backwards. This is very conducive to your understanding of metal movement. Solid fuel will add dimension to your skills and you may find that you want to continue having it as an option in your shop.

|quoted:

Now we're talking. This clarification is great and the fact that coal is used is an exciting factor. Lest you apprentices that are competing have reservations about the coal; if you practice, coal fuel will let you be more specific with your heats and offers more control in tighter areas.

This is not a step backwards. This is very conducive to your understanding of metal movement. Solid fuel will add dimension to your skills and you may find that you want to continue having it as an option in your shop.

We are on the same page Lin. When I teach an Intro course I insist that the students spend some time with coal. The convenience of gas forges has made it so that maintaining a proper coal fire is dying art. Often when I see some folks, who have been doing this as long as I, having to work in coal I can tell that they are not used to it. Yellow smoke filling the room, green coal sticking to the side of a blade, working in an all yellow flame, clinkers galore and, probably the most common, the draft up so high that the fire pot could lift a Saturn V rocket. And it is a shame because the heat control of coal is unsurpassed.

One of my favorite things I like to do to mess with peoples minds is whenever I do a heat treatment demo on the road, and they wheel out a gas forge, I tell them to put it away and give me a coal forge. The ability to heat the thicker blade areas first, while leaving the fine edge and tip until you are ready, is a beautiful thing. And that lovely blue flame, if used correctly will produce a hardened blade that this almost as scale free as my salt baths.

But best of all- coal doesn't roar at you! You can forge ten blades and have no tinnitus at the end of the day. Anybody who has had the pleasure of working with bellows, knows how therapeutic that soothing whisper can be, it is almost Zen.

If it wasn't for maintaining reliable coal supply and the dust, I would still use coal more, but alas, space limitations and business time and productivity needs... <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//sad.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':(' />

Thanks for the additional clarification.

As well, the absence of background noise will enhance the overall appeal of our endeavor.

I will bring extra video batteries so that we may also do some before and after interview of the participants if that is deemed worthwhile. I think it is.

|quoted:

We are on the same page Lin. When I teach an Intro course I insist that the students spend some time with coal. The convenience of gas forges has made it so that maintaining a proper coal fire is dying art. Often when I see some folks, who have been doing this as long as I, having to work in coal I can tell that they are not used to it. Yellow smoke filling the room, green coal sticking to the side of a blade, working in an all yellow flame, clinkers galore and, probably the most common, the draft up so high that the fire pot could lift a Saturn V rocket. And it is a shame because the heat control of coal is unsurpassed.

One of my favorite things I like to do to mess with peoples minds is whenever I do a heat treatment demo on the road, and they wheel out a gas forge, I tell them to put it away and give me a coal forge. The ability to heat the thicker blade areas first, while leaving the fine edge and tip until you are ready, is a beautiful thing. And that lovely blue flame, if used correctly will produce a hardened blade that this almost as scale free as my salt baths.

But best of all- coal doesn't roar at you! You can forge ten blades and have no tinnitus at the end of the day. Anybody who has had the pleasure of working with bellows, knows how therapeutic that soothing whisper can be, it is almost Zen.

If it wasn't for maintaining reliable coal supply and the dust, I would still use coal more, but alas, space limitations and business time and productivity needs... <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//sad.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':(' />

I do miss coal , but asthma has made it all but impossible to deal with for any length of time.

MP

This sounds better every day! Where will the video story be available to watch as the whole process plays out?